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Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by WickhamofWare, Aug 21, 2009.

  1. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    The Talyllyn Railway Company sometimes makes an operating loss. It is subsidised by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society.

    That is why the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society was established in 1950 .
     
  2. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    I suggest that the real issue is the collapse of the Holiday Trade in Mid Wales
     
  3. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

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    But websites and colour leaflets have to justify themselves and actually bring in some income. Not just look good for a few enthusiasts.

    How many people holidaying in Wales would want to visit more than one steam railway?
     
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  4. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

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    Is there a particular reason for that? Or has the area just gone out of fashion?
     
  5. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    It became cheaper to fly to Spain and get good weather than spend a week in the rain staying in a caravan in Mid Wales.
     
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  6. Bill Drewett

    Bill Drewett Member

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    Put like that it's understandable. Would I be correct in thinking you don't work for the Welsh tourist board?
     
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  7. 6024KEI

    6024KEI Member

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    That's certainly part of the story, and its hitting the "beach" locations hardest. Realistically you are a hardy soul if you head to Fairbourne or Tywyn for a week building sandcastles on the beach. The challenge in that area is to find replacement attractions - I personally love it and spend a week up there every year, but it is a bit of a hidden gem - doesn't have the profile of the more northerly areas of Snowdonia when it comes to outdoor activities to attract people in. If you head up to the Betws to Llandudno area you have a better variety of attractions - beach on the north coast if you want it, reasonable access to Snowdon and Ogwen valley for walking, plus things like Surf Snowdonia and then there's a big forest aerial walkway place around there as well.

    The area next south needs a bit of a coordinated think to ensure that there is stuff for people to do for a week whatever the weather - not least because its a bit of a pig to get to so you wouldn't tend to go for a day! It is possible to do - Fairbourne, Corris and Tallylyn railways, Cadair Idris to climb, Centre for Alternative Technologies, Gold mine, White water centre at Bala etc. But some really needs to pull that together as a package based on the main centres so people can see what they can do. Fairbourne is a tricky one because with talk of it being abandoned to sea level rises, investment there is going to be pretty limited long term.
     
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  8. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I loved the tidal pools of Morfa Mawddach. Largely shielded from prevailing winds and delightfully warm. The little sand coloured crabs can be right nippy bu**ers tho'!

    To get there, the panoramic views from Barmouth Bridge's footpath were one of the delights of my childhood holidays in the area.
     
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  9. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    Anyone want to brave Morfa Dyffryn beach?
     
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  10. MuzTrem

    MuzTrem Member

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    I believe the Great Little Trains panel was also responsible for this rather good website:
    https://bigtrainlittletrain.com/

    It is a very useful resource showing how the various railways can be combined with other attractions; it even has suggested itineraries which show people that there is potential for repeat visits. So clearly, they are trying hard. But how much traffic the website gets, and how many people it has actually persauded to visit Wales, I don't know...
     
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  11. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    The area is so weather dependent. When the sun is shining and it's warm it's lovely - but unfortunately that is not the norm.
     
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  12. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    But if you're in Spain/Greece/Cyprus etc you don't need to find replacement attractions - the kids are happy enjoying the sun playing on the beach or around the pool.
     
  13. MuzTrem

    MuzTrem Member

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    Not everybody wants that kind of holiday though - it is a question of pitching to the right market.

    In any case, if climate change continues then Spain etc. may soon become too hot in summer...! :Wideyed:
     
  14. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    Not everyone true, but hundreds of thousands did and thus the holiday population of Mid and West Wales nosedived.
     
  15. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    It's a great beach with lots of visual attractions.
     
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  16. talerddig14

    talerddig14 New Member

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  17. sonicboom

    sonicboom New Member

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    As someone who's holidayed in Mid Wales the last two years with a small child, I can verify tourist populations in mid wales havent totally nosedived during school summer holidays. We've been hard pushed and had to book early to find availability in decent self catering accommodation in Aberdovey for two years on the trot now. I'd suggest the bigger challenge for the Talyllyn is simply attracting people to come to Tywyn in the first place, theres literally nothing to attract family tourists to the town apart from the steam railway and a few small shops. The North Wales coast has seen significant up turns in tourism as it's turned to more adventure centred tourism (the various zip world attractions, surf snowdonia, RIB boat trips on the menai straits, sun centre 2 in Rhyl etc). But a family trip on a mid wales steam railway isnt cheap and with a child over 3, a return trip on the Vale of Rheidol is over £63 and £45 on the Talyllyn.
     
  18. talerddig14

    talerddig14 New Member

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    2 adults 1 child on VOR can be done for £55 if you use a family ticket, it feels a lot of money, but then what people throw at professional sports and concerts these days puts it in perspective.
    I don't see a significant drop of numbers from last year. The zip wires and high rope options are accessible from both areas and other things such as dolphin watching. However you paint it, you cannot change an area overnight and it needs a significant amount of capital to do so - that which I'm sure your not implying the TR should provide. Also, the transport infrastructure in the region is not as good as it could be with significant political will. There is also the thought that if there were significant developments (and lets face it, there are some awful parts of the North Wales coast), would this change the feel of the area and would that still be the place you wanted to visit?
     
  19. Kingscross

    Kingscross Member

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    The Welsh slate industry landscape has been nominated to be a World Heritage Site, which should be a filip for tourism in North Wales. See https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ng-landscape-nominated-as-world-heritage-site

    Inscription for some of the post-industrial parts of Cornwall as the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site (https://www.visitcornwall.com/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/world-heritage-site) has worked well in terms of attracting visitors into some of the less picturesque but very interesting parts of the Duchy.
     
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  20. Penrhynfan

    Penrhynfan New Member

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    What I have never seem stated is when will the decision be made>
     

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